The Block judge Darren Palmer reveals latest design trends
Popular design guru and TV renovation show judge Darren Palmer reveals his top style tips for 2019, and what he believes are the greatest design mistakes people make.
Popular design guru and TV renovation show judge Darren Palmer reveals his top style tips for 2019, and what he believes is the greatest design mistake people make.
Q You’re one of Australia’s most influential interior designers. Was this something you always wanted?
Ever since I was 12 or 13 I have always wanted to build houses and thought that meant being an architect.
But I mucked around in school and didn’t get the grades for architecture so I did graphic design for 10 years instead. At 27, I realised that all I thought about was interiors so decided to renovate my own apartment and it all went from there.
Q What is your favourite room in your house?
It’s a pretty even split between the kitchen and balcony. The kitchen is the newest room in the house and we use it all the time. It’s simple and functional with lots of great products. My balcony is pretty nice.
Q Do you find yourself constantly changing the decor?
I wanted to redesign our kitchen to put this particular fridge in it and do a photo shoot. So, I told my partner: “We’re going to have to do the kitchen but I promise you it’ll be two weeks and it’ll just be the kitchen.”
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Then I realised that with the new kitchen the loungeroom didn’t work so I had to re-do the loungeroom and there was the opportunity to add some skylights.
Then I thought I might as well do the dining room. It was all done within four weeks and I was finishing it at 11.30am of the morning of my 40th birthday lunch. It was like my very own house reveal.
Q What are the dangers of following design trends?
I don’t pay much attention to the interior trends because I think they are great to be inspired by but not great to blindly adhere to. It’s like fashion, if you dress like everybody else it’s fine but it’s not expressing who you are. Your home is your home.
Q What is the biggest design mistake people make?
Not setting themselves a brief, hands down. Most people think they have it all clear in their heads and they don’t write it down. But by writing it down you have a document to check back with. Without it, people often start in one place and end up somewhere completely different.
Q Aside from interiors what are your other passions?
Fitness and family. I look after my body and mind but my biggest passion is family. I prioritise them over everything and I am most happy at home. I am actually quite introverted.
Q What’s your favourite travel destination?
I just fell back in love with Bali. I went there recently and the tranquil, quiet lifestyle is spectacular.
Q You’ve got three beautiful dogs, Have you always been a dog person?
I never had a dog until I married. I grew up with cats. When I got married we had a 14-year-old cat and two dogs and they’ve all since passed away. Right now we have three dogs: Brutus, Ravvie and Frankie.
Q What are some popular design trends now?
The old faithfuls of industrial, Hamptons, contemporary, beach, Skandi or more recently Japandi (also known as Skandanese) stand true, but we’re seeing mini trends and the blending of styles to create unique results.
The big overarching trend is that of personalisation, individualism and a need to have a home as a sanctuary and a reflection of self.
Q Are interior design trends cyclical?
Yes, absolutely. We swing like a pendulum between minimalism to high detail, from machine-made to hand-made, from neutral palettes to high colour, from simple palettes to ones full of texture and pattern.
Each trend sees rebirth with a new set of eyes. We’re seeing design periods like ’50s retro, Memphis and art deco all having a resurgence and finding their places in trends all at the same time. We’re seeing colours like orange and brown come back into palettes but in fresh and interesting ways.
Q What is the on-trend colour for 2019?
There is a range of colours that will be big this year, though as an overarching trend colour is going to be big across the board — 2019 is definitely going to be the year of colour.
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